Thursday, December 18, 2014

As Dostoyevsky said - we are all guilty. Guilty of perverse
and incompetent diplomacy. That includes President Obama who couldn't control
his neo-conservatives, President Putin who failed to check his perfectly
legitimate fear of American hegemony, the EU - totally incompetent with no
ability to form foreign policy and resist that American neo-conservative
aggression. And the Murdoch dominated world media, perversely persuading the
'West' that 'it's all Putin's fault'.My
book, A Word Before Leaving, just published in print and on Kindle, shows how Sergei
Lavrov's has been the only voice for peace and for a Ukraine being a hyphen
joining the EU in the West of Europe and Russia in the East of Europe instead
of a bone of contention. He lamented what might have been - if there had been
any other diplomats of his stature.

About JP Diplomatic Consultancy

Our particular interest is in assisting those (probably in the media, academia, and in NGOs) who are encouraging the new U S administration to lead towards establishing at last that new era in international cooperation made possible by the end of the Cold War.

We believe that the planet cannot support this era of waste that began soon after Word War II. That means that capitalism - so effective in getting economic results - must be directed (by making it worthwhile) towards producing what is socially required to meet the existential challenges humanity now faces. Undirected capitalism leads to a reckless search profit from socially harmful activities. It is also largely responsible for the unsustainable age of waste we have lived through since World War II.

If the world is to move on from confrontation to cooperation and avoid the "endless wars" the Pentagon predicts over diminishing world resources, it will be essential to get the media to appreciate he issues. In all countries, politicians, the media and the public alike need to be persuaded of the need to get beyond the outmoded categories of "right or left", "progressive or conservative" and move away from traditional ideologies to a much more pragmatic world outlook. With the world for the first time facing existential challenges there must be a major effort to educate young and old alike - through the media, through schools and universities, through discussion with people of power, and in other ways. Much lobbying will also be needed.

While all countries have a fundamental national interest in working to resolve the immense and unprecedented challenges to humanity that all nations face, it will be hard indeed to avoid serious collisions in the jockeying for position. Further pinpointing areas of potential future conflict are urgently needed now.

And in particular, the U.S. will need a partner in a Europe - a post-Lisbon Europe with a single voice on the great matters - if Russia, China and the other major powers are to be persuaded that the policies of confrontation that have marked the last 8 years, are over, and that a cooperative approach to common problems must be pursued.

So high priority needs to be given for all measures leading towards European consensus in foreign affairs.